F1: Ferrari ace predicts Mercedes fortune after 2022 troubles

Charles Leclerc is certain Mercedes will be back in contention for F1 world titles in 2023 after overcoming their struggles in 2022. The Ferrari ace has welcomed the added challenge after coming up short against Red Bull Racing this past campaign.

The Silver Arrows started the 2022 season on the back foot after taking the wrong direction under the new aerodynamic regulations. They struggled with porpoising issues for most of the campaign, which limited their ability to focus on improving other areas of the car.

However, once they overcame the bouncing issues, they were able to make steady improvements as the season progressed. Eventually, Mercedes were able to challenge the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari in the latter stages with George Russell taking their only win of the season in Brazil.

Red Bull went to claim both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships in dominant fashion, but Mercedes showed genuine improvement to close the gap to the frontrunners. Leclerc is certain that Mercedes' late season improvement will see them right at the front come the first race in 2023.

"I do believe that Mercedes will be in the fight," Leclerc said, as quoted on Race Fans. "We've seen how much they've improved from the first race to the last race. I think they understood what they did wrong. This is normally the sign that it will go better. So hopefully it will be a three team fight next year."

Ferrari started out as Red Bull's closest challenger, but reliability issues and strategy mishaps saw them falter as the season entered the latter stages. As the Austrian team extended their advantage at the front, the Italian team almost fell into the clutches of the resurgent Mercedes team.

The Maranello team eventually finished in second, but did not have the same advantage over Mercedes they had when the season started. Despite this, Leclerc welcomed their emergence as potential contenders in 2023, as he feels this will only motivate the drivers more.

"But not only me, I think everybody," the Monegasque driver added. "I think the more cars are involved, the closer the cars are, the happier the drivers are, because that's when it gets interesting."